Verdict "Guilty" in Cairo Drive-By Shooting

A jury deliberated for just over an hour before finding Frank Williams Jr. and Shadrick Killens guilty of murder and aggravated assault in the death of Jerry "Duck" Bodiford.

Williams and Killens were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

Bodiford's father says although this will not bring his son back, he does feel like justice was served.

See our interview with Bodiford's father tonight on Eyewitness News at 11. -------------------------------------------------------Grady County, Georgia -June 19, 2012 -3:00 pm-

A Grady County Jury is deliberating in the trial for two Thomasville men accused in the drive-by shooting death of 21-year-old Jerry "Duck" Bodiford Jr.______________________

Grady County, Georgia -June 19, 2012 -1:15 pm-

A Sheriff involved in the case reports that all evidence in the trial has been presented and the prosecution will begin closing arguments. The defense will then proceed before the jury begins its deliberation. A verdict is expected tonight.

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Grady County, Georgia -June 19, 2012 -

Trial for the two Thomasville men accused in the drive-by shooting death of a man in Cairo is now underway. Testimony started this morning.

Deputies believe 21-year-old Jerry "Duck" Bodiford Jr. was just an innocent man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.Witnesses say Bodiford was hit by a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting while walking in a Cairo neighborhood last July.Police arrested 20-year-old Frank Williams Jr., and Shadrick Killens for the murder.

We'll have the latest from court tonight on Eyewitness News.

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UPDATE 1-5-2012

There was a court date today for two men accused of murdering former Cairo High football player Jerry Bodiford, Jr.

Frankie Williams Jr. did not appear in court, but Shadrick Killens did. He entered a plea of "not-guilty" at the Grady County Courthouse in Cairo. The two are accused of gunning down 21-year-old Jerry Bodiford, Jr. in a drive-by shooting in july of 2011. Bodiford's family members are anxious to know more about what happened.

"I'm disappointed today, because I didn't get to hear what I thought I was going to hear, but I guess it's continued in March, so in March is when I will hear everything I don't know about the case," said Jerry Bodiford, Sr., the victim's father.

No date has been set for the trial, but it is supposed to begin at some point in March.___________________

UPDATE 1-4-2012

Two men accused of murdering a former Cairo High football star will be in court Thursday, January 5.

21-year old Jerry Bodiford Jr. was killed in a drive by shooting in July of 2011.

The suspects in the case, Frankie Williams Jr. and Shadrick Killens, are scheduled to go to trial sometime in March.

We'll keep you posted on the latest developments in the courtroom.

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12-21-2011

Victim's Family Speaks Out

It has been five months since Jerry Bodiford Jr. was laid to rest. His family says it's the memories that are helping them get through this difficult time.

The memorial is still up at the site in Cairo where twenty-one year old Bodiford was shot while standing with friends, an innocent victim according to his family and prosecutors.

"He didn't bother nobody. He was the type of person who got along with everybody," said Jerry Bodiford Sr., the victim's father.

Bodiford's family says his death has brought them closer together and they are trying to focus on the positive.

"We just pray a lot and communicate with one another like we should as a family since all this happened," said Bodiford, Sr.

Relatives say Bodiford was they type of person who always put others first, and they are trying to live their lives like he would have wanted them to.

"He was the happy person. Like, if something if somebody was mad or something, he'd be like, why you gotta be so serious? Why you gotta take life so serious. Just live," said Bodiford's sister, Alesha Bodiford.

"It's been difficult at times but we hangin in there," said his aunt, Claretha Fuller.

A picture that Bodiford's uncle snapped one day of the clouds has given them renewed hope. They believe that an image in the clouds shows Bodiford looking down on them.

"We have pictures that gave us closure. And it helps a lot. Its helped us a lot," said Fuller.

Bodiford, Sr. said he is struggles every day with the loss of his son.

"The children supposed to bury the parents. Not the parents bury the child," said Bodiford, Sr.

With the trial still a few months away, friends and family are moving forward and hope that in the end, justice will be served.

The pretrial is scheduled for January fifth and the trial is set to begin sometime in March.

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